Josh Fields expected to be veteran presence for IronPigs

The former first-round pick will be one of the few free agents on the IronPigs roster this summer.

Infielder Josh Fields will lend a veteran presence to the IronPigs this… (KEVIN MINGORA, THE MORNING…)

March 28, 2013|By Jeff Schuler, Of The Morning Call

CLEARWATER, Fla. — — At 30 years old, Josh Fields will be one of the "elder statesmen" on what's definitely the youngest IronPigs team in history and one of the youngest Phillies' Triple-A rosters in quite a while.

"I just actually realized that today," the former first-round draft pick said Thursday with a smile. "My mind says I'm too young to be [an elder statesman]."

Fields, who hit .322 with 13 home runs and 71 RBIs a year ago for Triple-A Albuquerque, could be among five or six free agents on the IronPigs' Opening Day roster. That roster, which is due to be released this weekend, is expected to feature at least 12 Phillies draft picks and three prospects — Tommy Joseph, Ethan Martin and Tyson Gillies — acquired in trades.

Of those prospects, six are ranked in the first nine of Baseball America's Top 30 prospects in the organization, and perhaps 10 overall of the 30 could be wearing an IronPigs uniform Thursday when the season opens against Syracuse at Coca-Cola Park.

Fields' role, in addition to providing some pop in the line-up while playing the corner infield spots and a little outfield (and maybe putting himself in a position to help out at the major-league level if the need arises), will also include mentoring those youngsters, five of whom will be making their Triple-A debuts.

"I've got a big opportunity to help the young guys, what to do in certain situations — I have a whole lot of 'what not to do's' that I'm sure I can tell them about," Fields said with a laugh.

"If you're an older guy on the team, that becomes one of your roles. You take care of your own business and try to play well, but you kind of have an obligation and a responsibility to help out as well. The older guys as I was coming up taught me that way, and you kind of just graduate into that. I think that hopefully I can teach these guys a couple of things about how to go about the game the right way."

IronPigs manager Dave Brundage said: "I expect him not only to be a good influence on the field but also off the field. I expect his experience and his experiences to rub off on the younger players, and help teach them the game. Sometimes the most valuable lessons learned are from the veterans on your ballclub."

Fields was a rare two-sport star on the Division I level at Oklahoma State. He was an all-Big 12 third baseman for the Cowboys baseball program, leaving with a career .364 average when the Chicago White Sox selected him as the 16th overall pick in the 2004 draft.

The Oklahoma native also left with the football record for career touchdown passes (55) and still ranks among the school's career leaders with 6,090 yards in only three seasons.

Fields' father was a baseball coach, and being drafted on the first round made his choice easier, although he felt the pressure from local Cowboy fans to stay for his final year as quarterback.

"I went to high school in Stillwater [the hometown of OSU's campus], and while the hometown people cared a lot for me and wanted me to know they supported me, they also let me know they wish I'd stay," Fields said.

"But I have pictures for as long as I can remember of being dressed up in a uniform like my dad, and baseball was always my first love. I thought I was going to get drafted out of high school [for baseball] and really didn't think I was going to go to college and play football. It turned out to be a great re-experience, but I was always looking to get back and play professional baseball."

Morgan impressive again: It's looking more and more as if left-hander Adam Morgan is going to come north as a member of the IronPigs starting rotation.

Morgan, the third-round pick in 2011, allowed three hits and two runs over 52/3 innings Thursday against Indianapolis (Pittsburgh), striking out five and walking one. He's allowed seven hits and four earned runs in 142/3 innings this spring with 15 strikeouts and five walks.

The IronPigs eventually pulled out a 6-5 win on Cody Asche's bases-loaded, two-out single over the center fielder's head in the bottom of the ninth inning after Fields tied the game in the eighth with a two-run single.

Tyson Gillies, John Suomi and Phillies outfielder Delmon Young, who is recovering from an off-season ankle injury, each had two hits. Young also knocked in three runs.

Hyatt released: Former IronPig Austin Hyatt was among several minor leaguers released Wednesday.

Phillies 7, Blue Jays 2: Roy Halladay, whose last major-league start was cut short by a stomach virus, permitted two runs on eight hits in 41/3 innings, striking out six and walking two in the Phillies' final Grapefruit League game. Chase Utley hit his fifth homer for the Phillies, who host the Blue Jays Friday and Saturday at Citizens Bank Park for the exhibition on-deck series.